Monday, June 11, 2012

Meal Planning Mondays: Get the kids cookin'.

Nary shall be the offspring of mine who can't so much as cook a box of mac and cheese in their college years. No sir, not on my watch!

Okay fine, I'm waxing noble about this but in all reality it is the best way to keep them occupied during

the hour of pure hell and damnation

known as dinner prep.

They systematically destroy every room in the house while I labor selflessly over the stove then casually meander their way to the table after I announce dinner 15 times and we offer a blessing over the food while London pouts about being cut short on playing with her ponies and Lily protests whatever is green on her plate and Ellie Jane dumps her entire meal on the ground and Tyler asks if we can make it quick because the game is about to start on the television and before you know it a fork is stabbed through the heart of the roast chicken and i've stormed out of the room inviting my family to

enjoy your meal ya jerks.

So I figure,

If you can't beat em, join em.

Or at least have them join you.

It is pretty cute too, you can give them a few old celery leaves and a cutting board with a plastic knife and they will spend hours "mincing herbs for mommy". Oh thanks so much darlings!

(And into the garbage disposal it goes when they aren't looking). They seem to take more pride in the meal, and get excited to sit down and eat and receive compliments on those excellently minced ingredients they contributed to the salad. Mmmmmm....mission accomplished. Or should i say mincin' accomplished (clever!).

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Here's our week's lineup:

1. Because you can never get enough pizza....

Roasted Veggie Pizza.

Start with:

Whole wheat pizza dough

Pesto Sauce

Fresh sliced mozzarella

Slice an assortment of your favorite veggies:

bell peppers

red onion

zucchini

squash

broccoli

Toss veggies in olive oil and salt and roast at 400 degrees until tender. Roll out pizza dough and top with pesto sauce. Add sliced mozzarella, roasted veggies and bake at at 450 for approx 20 minutes or until crust edges are browned and cheese is melted.

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2. Easy!

Ever used a tomatillo? It's a brilliant staple of Mexican delights! It makes for great homemade enchilada sauce. London had herself a good time peeling off the husks. I've also omitted the chicken and just used beans for vegetarian purposes, still just as good. It's an easy recipe to double and share too, we delivered it for dinner to our neighbor/friend who had a new baby this last week...

Preheat the broiler. Slice half of the onion into thin rings and set aside. Place the other onion half, tomatillos and serranos on a foil-lined baking sheet and broil until the vegetables are soft and slightly brown, 7 to 10 minutes, turning as needed. Transfer the vegetables and any liquid to a blender, add the broth and puree. Season with 1/2 teaspoon salt and the sugar.

Meanwhile, stack the tortillas, wrap in a damp paper towel and microwave just until warm and soft, 1 minute; keep covered. Toss the chicken with 2 cups shredded cheese in a bowl. Spoon a portion of the chicken mixture down the middle of each tortilla. Add a few cilantro leaves and roll up. Place the enchiladas side by side in a lightly oiled 9-by-13-inch baking dish and brush with the 2 tablespoons olive oil. Broil until crisp and golden, 3 minutes.

Pour the tomatillo sauce over the enchiladas and top with the remaining 1/2 cup shredded cheese. Return to the oven and broil until the cheese is bubbly and golden brown, 3 to 5 minutes. Garnish with the onion rings,queso fresco and any remaining cilantro.

Sorry, had to steal the pic from Real Simple because I forgot to take a picture and mine turned out pretty nasty looking anyways. I burned the potatoes. But I have made this recipe a bajillion times because it is a Sunday family favorite. There's something about that combination of warm chicken and sweet potatoes with that maple syrup that just keeps ya diggin' for more.

Rinse the chicken and pat it dry. Arrange the chicken, onion, and sweet potatoes in a 9-by-13-inch baking dish. Drizzle the oil over the chicken and vegetables and season with the salt and pepper. Toss to coat. Drizzle with the maple syrup and top with the sprigs of thyme. Roast, stirring the vegetables once, until the chicken is cooked through, about 1 hour, 15 minutes. Let rest for 10 minutes before serving.

3 comments:

Your girls have chef hats?!? hahahahaha!!! How am I not surprised?! Your food looks amazing!I can't believe you made a meal for a mother who just had a baby..didn't YOU just have a baby?! :) You're too good.